NEW ORLEANS, La. – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recently released its list of academic award winners for the 2021-22 men’s and women’s track and field season.
Not only did both Kenyon College Owls squads make the grade as teams, but Emma Becker and Paula Soric earned individual recognition on the women’s side as All-Academic athletes, and Riley Orth was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic athlete for the men. Both the men’s and women’s teams earned the honor for the 13th time in program history.
To be eligible for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, a program had to produce a minimum team grade point average of 3.10. The Owls checked in with a combined team GPA of 3.66, easily clearing that hurdle.
For the individual All-Academic athlete awards, Becker and Soric, as well as the rest of the women’s honorees, had to compile a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and had to compete in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship and/or had to finish the regular season ranked in the national top 50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 35 in a relay event.
Becker, a senior and distance specialist on the 2021-22 Kenyon team, cranked out a best time of 18:12.46 in the 5,000-meter run during the indoor season. That time was 13th best in the Great Lakes Region. During the outdoor campaign, Becker ran the 10,000-meter in 37:20.21, which was 11th best in the Great Lakes Region and 46th best among all runners in NCAA Division III.
Soric, a first-year during the 2021-22 campaign, excelled in the triple jump. During the year, she set the Kenyon indoor record at 37 feet, 7 ¼ inches and the outdoor record at 38 feet, 3 ½ inches. Her indoor best ranked third in the Great Lakes Region and 33rd among all NCAA Division III student-athletes. Her outdoor best ranked third in the Great Lakes region and 47th in NCAA Division III.
On the men’s side, the Kenyon College men’s track and field program easily surpassed the minimum delineated team grade point average of 3.10. The Owls checked in with a combined team grade point average of 3.47.
The Kenyon men saw Riley Orth, a sophomore on the 2021-22 squad, named a USTFCCCA All-Academic athlete. Orth, a native of Cincinnati, participated in throwing events with a specialization in the shot put. His best toss in the shot put this past outdoor season measured 50 feet, ¾ inch. That mark ranked third best in the NCAA Great Lakes Region and 49th best among all NCAA Division III student-athletes. In indoor competition, Orth’s best throw traveled 51 feet, 5 ½ inches. That mark was a Kenyon program record, ranked first in the Great Lakes Region and 23rd among all NCAA Division III student-athletes.
